


Pains

by ArchitectOfTheStars (AdaEinar)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura is amazing, Comfort, Comfort/Angst, Cramps, Female Friendship, Light Angst, Menstrual Cycle, as a woman I refuse to feel guilty posting this, big sister energy, it's just relatable girl problems, it's not graphic or anything, periods suck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:14:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27713242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdaEinar/pseuds/ArchitectOfTheStars
Summary: Pidge is growing up. That means dealing with pains both physical and emotional. Good thing she's not the only girl on the castle ship.In other words, Pidge gets her period and Allura is here to help. I guess you can read it as Allura/Pidge if you want, I didn't write it that way but if you want to read it that way . . .
Relationships: Allura & Pidge | Katie Holt
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	Pains

**Author's Note:**

> Periods suck.
> 
> I was going to apologize to any men who stumble across this, but 1) they can just stop reading, and 2) I'm not sorry. Women have to live through this every month. Men can stand to read about characters talking about it once.
> 
> Is this a taboo thing to write about? Dunno. Probably, but it shouldn't be, so I'm gonna write about it.

“Princess Allura?”

The voice sounded young and only vaguely male—probably Pidge.

“Come in.”

It _was_ Pidge, with a hand pressed against her lower back and grimace on her face. She stepped into the room slowly, as if afraid to have the conversation she’d come there for. “Hey, um . . .” She cleared her throat, avoiding eye contact. “How . . . how similar are human and Altean reproductive systems? Do you . . . do you even know?”

Allura’s eyes widened, and she flushed slightly. “Um . . . very similar, I believe. Scientists suspect we have a common interstellar nomadic ancestor. Why do you . . .” She took in the grimace, Pidge’s hand on her lower back, the slow, unusually short stride she walked with, and had a pretty good guess why Pidge was talking to her. “Oh.”

“So you do have a period?” Pidge said, then frowned. “Or, a cycle. Monthly. Or for you it would be a pheobly? A menstrual—”

“We call it our cycle,” Allura said. “About once every two pheobs.” Pidge nodded in relief. “Don’t worry, Pidge, I have plenty of supplies. Do you just not have the right products, or—”

“Nope. This is my . . .” She closed her eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. “This is my first time.” She sat down on the edge of Allura’s bed, biting her lips in pain. Allura wanted to pull the younger girl into a hug, but she knew that wasn’t the kind of thing she needed right now. Instead, she entered the bathroom connected to her quarters and began searching the cabinets.

She remembered her first cycle. It had been an exciting, but mostly terrifying, experience. Knowing you were growing up. Knowing there were times you could never go back to. Knowing there was something new in your life, a new issue you’d have to deal with for decapheobs. Knowing how much pain there was in your future. Knowing you were now doomed to have to deal with something unpleasant periodically, and there was absolutely nothing you could do about it.

It had been wonderful and exciting, but also awful.

Once Allura found a fresh package of sanitary pads—thank heavens she’d thought to stock up before going to sleep in the cryopods—she slid the bathroom door closed and turned around to find tears streaming down Pidge’s cheeks.

“Pidge!”

Allura dropped the package and sat down beside Pidge. This time, she didn’t hesitate to pull the younger girl into a hug. “What’s wrong, Pidge?”

It was a question with a clear answer, but she still wanted Pidge to answer it for herself. Pidge shook her head, crying too hard to get words out, and rubbed her eyes furiously with her fist. She turned away from Allura, probably ashamed to be seen crying.

“Pidge, it’s alright. Tell me what’s wrong. I want to help . . .”

Pidge pulled off her smudged, teary glasses, as if trying to see Allura clearly. Even blurred and shiny with tears, Pidge’s eyes were a bright, glowing amber color. Pidge pressed her lips together, still trembling with sobs, and seemed to decide she could trust Allura.

“I just . . .” Pidge took a deep, shuddering breath, her chest trembling as she tried to get enough air in through her tears to speak a full sentence. “Mom should be here.” Pidge pressed her face into Allura’s chest, afraid to maintain eye contact in such a vulnerable state. “My first period, and I—I’m s-stuck in space with no way back home.” She hiccuped. “She’d be so upset she missed it—” Pidge’s voice became even more choppy and hard to understand. “And it’s me—growing up—it’s just another thing Dad and M-matt aren’t here for—Another issue I have to d-deal with—that’ll make it harder to look for them—and I just—”

She couldn’t form the words anymore, so she gave up and sobbed, her small form trembling under the weight of the emotions.

“Oh, Pidge.” Allura tightened the hug, hoping an Altean embrace wasn’t too different from a human one. Pidge wasn’t the best hugger, but it seemed to help. “I know it’s no consolation, but I know how you feel. I miss my family too. So, so much—”

Allura’s voice caught. If she went on like that, she would probably start crying too. What a mess.

“It shouldn’t be a big deal,” Pidge whispered. “It’s just my period. I’ve b-been dreading it, but it’s still just . . . Of—of course it had to h-happen eventually.” She hiccuped. “And it’s not— But they should be here—”

“I know, I know,” Allura said, holding Pidge even tighter and rubbing the tense muscles in her back. Most of Pidge’s mumbles were unintelligible, or too fragmented to be understood, but Allura kept listening. Slowly, Pidge relaxed in Allura’s arms. Her sobs quieted, if only slightly.

“I n-need to find them, Allura. Keith keeps saying I should put the galaxy first but— they’re my _family_ —”

“You’ll figure it out,” Allura assured her. Pidge took another deep breath, and it was finally enough to calm her. She pulled away and put her glasses back on, covering her eyes up with the slightly opacity of fingerprinted glass. But Allura still remembered what Pidge looked like without the glasses.

Tired.

She looked tired.

“I’m sorry I bothered you,” Pidge whispered. There was an unspoken apology for breaking down in tears, too. It was too embarrassing to say out loud, but Pidge still felt the need to apologize for it.

“Don’t be ridiculous. This is hard. Growing up is hard. But I promise it’ll be OK.” Allura picked up the package of sanitary pads and pressed them into Pidge’s hands. “Now go put on the pads, and rest.”

She shook her head. “But I’m really close to figuring out how to rewrite the Green lion cloaking to account for quantum tunneling—”

“Your body needs rest. _You_ need rest. Put it on and I’ll give you some pain medicine. Then you can sleep.” Allura’s hand lingered on Pidge’s arm, insisting—kindly, but firmly—that she comply.

Pidge hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “OK,” she said, relief clear on her face. Relief that there was someone who cared enough to force her to take care of herself. Relief that she wasn’t alone. That she could rest without feeling guilty. She gave Allura a small, but sincere, smile. “OK. I will.”

**Author's Note:**

> And I shall do the same. Sleep, I mean.
> 
> Also, am I the only one who cried when I first got my period? Just curious.


End file.
